'Florida has five of the nation's 15 largest universities but only one of the nation's top 50 in quality. When students and their parents walk on campuses, they see new buildings and new law schools, medical schools and football teams.

But inside, core classes like history pack in 250 students, part-time instructors do much of the work that professors used to do, and students grind out extra semesters without graduating because the classes they need are full or advisement staffs are too thin to guide them through their majors.

Already lumped in with the nation's bottom third, Florida's university system must contend with cutting up to 10 percent of its budgets -- a statewide hit on academics of as much as $232 million. With more lean budget years on the way, academic leaders worry that a further plunge in quality would undermine Florida's ability to compete with other state economies.

...[T]he university system ranks in the bottom third. That's unacceptable for an influential ''mega-trend'' state, with an economy larger than those of many sovereign nations, [the system's chancellor] said.

The most influential measure, U.S. News & World Report rankings, has flaws, including biases that favor older schools.... But the magazine's conclusions about Florida schools are reinforced by other rankings that consider research accomplishments, graduation rates, available space and the number of full-time faculty members. Except for the University of Florida and FSU, Florida's other mega-schools linger in the bottom third and fourth tiers of U.S. News' rankings.

''That's the one [ranking system] you can find in almost every airport, for God's sake. It's striking you in the face,'' [the chancellor] said.

...At FIU, psychology is among the most popular departments -- with 2,400 students choosing it as a major and 16,000 enrolling in classes. But with only 19 permanent full-time professors, the school relies on part-time instructors to teach 70 percent of the classes, said Suzanna Rose, who chairs the department.

A recent outside review concluded that the department should have 45 full-time faculty members.

''You want to have a critical mass in your area, and if it looks like the university isn't headed that way, your career is going to be affected and you might as well go somewhere else,'' Rose said.

...Florida ranks 34th in spending per student at its universities when agricultural extension campuses, libraries, student services and other projects outside the classroom are included. But the state ranks 41st in money spent on actually teaching students.


...Former Gov. Bob Graham, who remains an active player in higher-education politics, said Florida has not made universities a priority.

''Universities, more than any other institutions, set a tone for the state and tend to influence its development, particularly its economic development,'' Graham said. ``I don't think there's been a full appreciation of that by the political and business leadership of Florida, and we've suffered as a consequence.'''